I think that when they first announced Spirit Tracks, Zelda fans all over the world became very confused. The game was said to have Link portrayed as a train engineer. “Since when does Hyrule have that kind of technology?,” we all wondered. However, this is a Zelda game, so it is bound to be good. Next came a new announcement, Princess Zelda will be joining link through out the entire quest, in spirit form, and will even be able to possess suits of armor, called phantoms, to help Link directly. Now we were rejoicing, a chance to fight along Zelda is like a dream come true. We knew that this was going to be a great game.

And we were right. Spirit Tracks is a wonderful addition to the series we all hold so dear.

The controls are surprisingly simple, the game can be played using only the stylus. (though there are a few occasions when you can hit a button instead) However, this system works well and is very intuitive. The music is beautiful, some of the best in the series. (IMHO)

Having Zelda by your side through the entire adventure is…unique to say the least. At first it feels like a letdown, she sounds like a whiny brat. Luckily, before long she grows on you, and has even managed to become one of my favorite versions of Zelda. Being able to control Zelda (in the form of a phantom) adds a great twist to the dungeon format. Teamwork-based puzzles add a lot of variety and make for some very fun gameplay. However, the phantom walks much slower than Link, and you find yourself having to wait for her to catch up way too often. Controling her is fairly simple, just draw the path you want her to take. For the most part she follows your instructions perfectly, but it does mess up sometimes.

The train gameplay is a mixed bag. One one hand, they give you plenty to do while riding the train (cathing bunnies, shooting enemies and rocks, and avoiding other trains) but on the other hand, it gets boring at times. Also, if you crash into a train, you have to start from the beginning (something annoying if you are making a long trip) For the most part, it is not a fun experience, but there are a few special sequences that turn out to be great. To sum it up, the train is about equal to the boat in Wind Waker.

Overall, this is a spectacular game, and if you are a DS owner, you owe it to yourself to play this title.